Danielle Fishel Weighs in on Whether “Boy Meets World”’s Slasher Homage, ‘And Then There Was Shawn,’ Is a Halloween Episode (Exclusive)

Sabienna BowmanSun, November 1, 2026 at 12:30 AM UTC

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‘Boy Meets World’ cast in season 5, episode 17: ‘And Then There Was Shawn’Credit: Disney -

Danielle Fishel weighs in on whether or not Boy Meets World’s “And Then There Was Shawn” is a Halloween episode

The season 5 episode spoofed late ‘90s horror movies with Jennifer Love Hewitt guest starring

Fishel and her former costars revisited the fan-favorite episode on their Pod Meets World podcast

Danielle Fishel is settling a Boy Meets World episode debate for good.

PEOPLE caught up with Fishel as she was hosting QVC’s annual Christmas in July event with longtime friend Lance Bass, and asked the actress about a burning Boy Meets World question.

One of the ABC comedy’s most beloved episodes is the season 5 slasher sendup “And Then There Was Shawn.” The classic episode finds Shawn (Rider Strong), Topanga (Fishel), Cory (Ben Savage), and Angela (Trina McGee) in detention following an intense spat over a pencil. They’re also joined by Eric (Will Friedle), Jack (Matthew Lawrence), and special guest star Jennifer Love Hewitt.

“And Then There Was Shawn” quickly turns into an homage to the horror movies of the late ‘90s, including Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer (which starred Hewitt), with multiple characters meeting a bloody end before the final act reveals the surreal events to be a dream.

‘Boy Meets World’ cast in “And Then There Was Shawn”Credit: Disney

Over the years, “And Then There Was Shawn” has frequently landed on lists of the best Halloween episodes of all time. But there’s a catch — the episode actually premiered on Feb. 27, 1998.

When asked whether or not the popular horror-themed outing is a Halloween episode, Fishel gave a definitive answer. “We [the cast] even think of it as being a Halloween episode,” she tells PEOPLE. “Even though it aired in February, it feels like a Halloween episode.”

Fishel adds, “And sometimes we get put on those lists of the best holiday episodes of shows and ‘And Then There Was Shawn’ is on there and I think, was it a Valentine’s episode? But honestly, it should have been a Halloween episode. It was that good and that spooky. It falls right in line.”

In 2024, Fishel, 45, and her Boy Meets World costars Strong, 46, and Friedle, 50, looked back on the episode on the Pod Meets World podcast — just in time for Halloween.

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At the time, the Dancing with the Stars alum called “And Then There Was Shawn” a “romp,” and noted some people consider it to be the best episode of the series. “This is constantly regarded as maybe the best episode in Boy Meets World history and it’s a romp,” Fishel said.

Strong noted that airing in February actually made the episode spookier for the show’s younger audience since they wouldn’t be expecting to turn on Boy Meets World and find a killer picking off their favorite characters one by one. “Can you imagine tuning into TGIF — in February — when you’re, like, 9, 10?” Strong asked. “This must have been so jarring.”

Danielle Fishel on ‘Boy Meets World’Credit: Disney

Despite featuring some creative character deaths, the episode is also noted for its humor. In addition to including a South Park reference to the oft-killed Kenny less than a year after the long-running animated series premiered in 1997, there’s also a cheeky joke about Shawn’s sexual experience. When it’s pointed out only virgins make it to the end of horror movies, Shawn says he’ll “get as sick as you can without actually dying.”

“I mean, there’s some episodes that, like, stick with you after all these years,” Friedle said. “And I think for a generation of kids, this was it for them. I mean, this was one that really messed them up. I love that.”

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While “And Then There Was Shawn” is the most famous spooky episode of the series, Boy Meets World produced several Halloween-themed episodes, as well as the creepy season 6 outing “The Psychotic Episode,” in which Cory has increasingly disturbing dreams about killing Shawn.

The notable Halloween episodes include season 1’s “Boys II Mensa,” season 2’s “Who’s Afraid of Cory Wolf” and season 5’s “The Witches of Pennbrook,” which features a cameo by Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina from Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

All seven seasons of Boy Meets World are streaming now on Disney+.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”